Rep. Corrine Brown: “H.R. 1, the Working Families Flexibility Act of 1997 is also known as the Pay Reduction Act. Today, millions of workers…”

“H.R. 1, the Working Families Flexibility Act of 1997 is also known as the Pay Reduction Act. Today, millions of workers depend on overtime pay--just to feed their families and keep a roof over their heads. How cruel to consider this overtime pay as optional. Today too many people depend on overtime pay to survive. Their survival is not optional. It is employers--not employees--who get greater flexibility from this bill. The bill does not contain necessary safeguards to assure that the employee's decision to accept comptime is truly voluntary. The overtime provisions in the Fair Labor Standards Act both protect workers from excessive demands for overtime work, and, by requiring premium pay for overtime, provide an incentive for businesses to create additional jobs. There is no doubt that American workers prefer pay for their overtime work--instead of comptime. Unfortunately, too many do not get paid. The Employment Policy Foundation, a think tank supported by employers, estimates that workers lose $19 billion a year in overtime pay due to violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.”